It was spring, the season of laughing, which surprised exactly one person. Mallory, the girl who didn't know what was coming. She found herself laughing without reason, and all her friends were surprised to say the least. Especially, her dog, Stace. She had never seen Mallory laughing before and got a shot of happy energy and gave everyone kisses galore and made everyone laugh more when Emm's bright pink lipstick smudged everywhere. Little did they know, that pink smudged lipstick would be the last trace of her, as she disappeared without a trace the night of. Police swarmed the scene, convinced it was your run of the mill "teen runaway," but it was something more than that. The night of the disappearance was one that was full of joy, Emm was with her friends, giggling up a storm, which was unheard of. Chips were consumed, TV shows binged, an overall great time. Her friends had left, and the house was left silent other than the creaks in the floorboards and the occasional bark of Stace at a squirrel. As Emm walked up the stairs to her bedroom, because it was very late, those creaks started getting louder. Slightly alarmed, yet still partially in denial, believing that it was her dog making the noises, she pulled out her phone and turned on her flashlight. She looked out into the distance and a Hollywood quality smile gave her a grin, larger than she had ever seen, eyes creeping over her. A laugh penetrated the silence, and her concern for both herself and her dog skyrocketed. Emm ran for her room to get her collection of weapons she had just for the sole purpose of looking "edgy", and came out brandishing a knife, the handle plated with silver skulls that had yet to be cleaned. The smiling figure was nowhere to be seen. Cautiously, she proceeded down the hallway, wanting to find her dog to make sure it was alright. Stace appeared to be sleeping in her red dog bed. That is, until Emm remembered that her dog bed wasn't originally red. For a few weeks, none of Emm's friends noticed her disappearance. She commonly skipped class, and lived alone, as she had run away at 14 from her abusive family, and now lived in a previously, abandoned home, refurbished completely by her, so it wasn't really out of the blue for her to not attend. As messages upon messages went unread, things started getting suspicious, so they decided to take a visit to her house. No answer, only the smell of rotting flesh resided on the premises. Suddenly the season of laughing was one without trace of joy. Clearly alarmed, they called the police. "Hello, 911, what's your emergency?" the operator said."My.. my friend, I don't know if she's ok," sputtered out Marissa, the only one in their friend group that currently was in a good enough state of mind to talk. "Where are you and why are you concerned?" Marissa continued her worried jumble of words, "She hasn't contacted us nor gone to school for a few weeks, messages left unread when usually she reads them within seconds to respond, and I'm here at her house now but there's a putrid stench of rotting food," replied Marissa, barely able to keep her tears from flowing down her face. "Where are you? I'll send people to your location," the operator said, without a hint of sympathy. He almost seemed to be unhappy with them. "We can help." "Umm, we're at 2004 Notalont Drive," relinquishing to the tears that were streaming down her face, ruining her full face of makeup, that she put on daily because of her terrible insecurities. Hanging up the phone, the group of teary eyed girls stayed together and started to walk around the house looking for their friend and praying that the smell is just old meat and that their friend is just sick, they creep up the stairs and away from the kitchen but, the smell grows stronger. So strong, that Maple, the youngest of the group, runs back down the stairs and to the bathroom, about to get sick, but she stops at the horrible sight of Stace, rotting from the inside out on a once, blue but now brown stained dog bed. Screams can be heard from the girl and the group runs to the sight and the teary eyed maple drops to the floor in shock. They couldn't believe it. Emm was really gone.
